INGREDIENTS
Large, 1.7kg free-range chicken
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
6 smoked streaky bacon rashers
3 thick slices white bread or a small ciabatta loaf, cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 cos lettuce, roughly torn into pieces
Handful rocket leaves
4 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
50g Parmesan or Grana Padano, roughly grated
METHOD
How to make roast chicken Caesar salad
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Place the chicken in a large roasting tin, rub the oil all over it and sprinkle with a little sea salt and plenty of ground black pepper. Squeeze over the juice of 2 of the lemon wedges and roast for 1¼ hours.
2. Add the bacon to the roasting tin and cook for a further 10 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is cooked and golden.
Instead of cooking a whole chicken, you can just roast 6 chicken thighs, slashed, in the same way, for 15-20 minutes. For a creamy blue cheese dressing, swap the anchovy fillets for a little Dolcelatte.
3. Remove the chicken and bacon from the tin and set aside on a board. Add the bread to the roasting tin and toss well with the pan juices. Roast for 8-10 minutes until golden.
4. Roughly chop the bacon, together with the chicken leg and thigh meat, into pieces (reserve the chicken breasts for the soup, overleaf). Place the cos lettuce and rocket in 4 serving bowls, then top with the chicken, bacon and croutons.
5. Whizz the anchovies, garlic and Dijon in a small food processor until mixed. Pour in the extra-virgin olive oil and squeeze in the juice from the remaining lemon wedges. Toss the dressing through the salad and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.
Source: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/seasonal/bbq/bbq-salads-and-side-dishes/roast-chicken-caesar-salad-recipe
